OHSHC: NekozawaxReader, Care to join?
by compactdisc66
Summary: Another fanfic. Continuing.
1. Chapter 1

I've been at this big Ouran Highschool for a whole six months now. I transferred from one wayyyyy up in northern Russia to study here in Japan for a while before probably being sent to some other random school in Africa or something. Whatever my sponsor wants to do with me. I'm struggling in math, but that's about it. Straight A's in pretty much everything else. Oh, besides extracurricular activities. Like sports. No sports, thank you. Due to this, I'm as strong as a very young, weak, malnourished horse. With some like, recurrent disease or something. I'm always sick. All the time. It doesn't matter what the sickness is, whether it's the flu or migraines or dizziness or colds or fevers... I'm just always sick. Start worrying about me when I'm not sick, because that's when something is really wrong.

I only have one extracurricular activity, which is music. I play the flute, the guitar, the violin, the piano, the harp, the saxophone, and the clarinet. I am the go-to for background music at all the school dances and performances and whatever. I can create CD's with the music on it as well, so that it's all me without needing more than one person. I do a whole ton of stuff around the school.

And does anyone notice my existence? No.

Every time someone passes me in the hall, I hear them whispering, "Hey is that a new kid we have? I wonder when it got in..." First of all. SIX MONTHS. Second. The music at every school dance you attend? Me. Third. I'm in a ton of classes. There are plenty of obvious opportunities for many many classmates to have seen me. Fourth, I'm not an "it". EVERY TIME, guys! Every single time, I'm referred to as an "it"!

The only student who knows me is Kyoyasan, and that's only because he has me arrange all the music for their host club thingies. He never even talks to me besides that, which is ok with me as long as I get my money for the music. But it's depressing... All the teachers take care of the dances, so none of the students ever interact with me. It gets kind of lonely, especially since I left my best friend in Russia. My sponsor doesn't seem to include emotions in his calculations.

I sighed and shoved my backpack higher up on my shoulders. School had just ended and all the students had either left or were waiting for their rides down in the courtyard. But I always stayed after school to practice my instruments in the music room. Hours and hours I work in there each day, because first my sponsor wants it. And then I want it, because it looks great on a transcript. Also it's really fun. I enjoy it, when I break it down into segments instead of just one whole seven hour practice.

The piano is beautiful here. And my other instruments I own, which make them a little less special in this situation. Always greener on the other side, yeah? I chuckled to myself and sat on the piano bench, throwing my bag to the side of the long, empty, silent room. The best part about playing was knowing that what I'm doing puts something into the world. Especially when it's so quiet before I start. The air is being filled with something that _I'm_ creating.

Sunlight streamed through the window. I kind of wish it would go away. It's much too bright. It always is... I squinted and pushed my glasses up my nose, staring down at the piano. Stupid sun. As my fingertips grazed the ivory, a clanking sound erupted from behind me. I jumped and whirled around. Who the heck is here? I'm always alone! Why is there someone here?

At the other side of the room was a slightly cracked door, inside which all I could see was darkness and then a spotlight beaming out at me. Oh wait... I think that's a face. The palest face I've ever seen... Is he wearing a cloak...?

"I apologize for disturbing you," a raspy voice erupted from the grinning man. "But I came to hear you play again, and I seemed to have dropped my book."

I felt the heat crawl across my face. What's he mean "again"? This guy had been watching me every day while I practiced? What kind of creep is this? I stood and pushed the key cover down nervously, mostly because my practicing doesn't always sound the best. "Well you could've let me know sometime before this... I mean I would've practiced better and stuff..." I fiddled with my jacket and stared at the marble floor. What the heck man... A warning would have been really nice...

I heard him chuckle deeply. Almost evilly. Oh my gosh, that one noise is sending so many chills down my back. "I didn't want you to change your habits for me being here. I am Nekozawa, the president of the Black Magic Club. I was wondering if you would possibly be interested in joining?"

What a change of subject. I didn't make any move to close the twenty five foot space between us and he didn't either. As a result of a combination of him being on the other side of the room, only a crack exposing him, and my sucky eyesight, he looked like a fuzzy white dot on a black line on the door. I squinted at him, making out... black hair I think. And super white teeth that glowed at me when he smiled. But I couldn't see his eyes at all. "Um... Well what is it?" I asked uncertainly. True, I definitely did need another activity. My sponsor kept telling me to join a club, and the teachers were giving me heck about not doing anything but music. But I do a TON of the music already!

He giggled deviously and motioned with one finger for me to come closer. I inched to him slowly as he explained to me, "The club members practice and study black magic, its history, how it was used and began, and how it has evolved now. There is currently only one member- myself-" I had halved the length between us and stopped there- "but with an assistant it would be much more exciting!"

Now his head isn't a blob anymore. It's defined and un-blurry. Still no eyes. Or body. It blends with the background behind the door. "Well it sounds very interesting. I think I'd like joining." Black magic... That's a really cool subject to get into. Maybe not to go too deep, and end up selling my soul or something... but to familiarize myself with it. And it'd satisfy the teachers and my sponsor. Might as well pick an activity that I enjoy. "When can I do so?"

He did that finger motion again. If my eyes were seeing right, it was a very long, blocky, but thin finger. Almost like, wiggling or something. I crept closer again, until I was standing only a foot away. A whole lot less nervous at least. This is starting to sound pretty fun! "I'm glad to see you're interested," he said with that deep voice of his, the smile never leaving his face. "We can start right now if you'd like."

I motioned back to the piano and my instruments. "Well, I'm practicing right no- AAAAAHHHHH!"

Suddenly I'm pulled into that pitch black room, all light disappearing. "This will be quick," he chuckled in my ear.


	2. Chapter 2

I stood in the candlelight illuminating the dark dark dark DARK room, only slightly piercing the thick black carpet of nothingness that engulfed my surroundings. Outside in the other room, it had been pink and bright and filled with that awfully strong sunlight. In here, the floors were a dull grey, and the walls black. There were windows, but they were covered with dark black curtains that prevented any light from getting in. Everything was just... dark. And the room was so cool, the air being protected from the heat of the sun. It felt pretty good.

I had decided to join the club, even though he didn't tell me the rules and times and stuff. This was just the club for me. I could feel it. Thinking about the magic that maybe I would be able to do, the interesting history it has, how unknown and undiscovered it is... It's just like a science! So even after his rude kidnapping me into darkness, unnatural manner of introductions and whatnot... But past that it sounds pretty good. I hope.

The small, high table came up to about my stomach, with the single candle and the black book. It was open to somewhere in the back, the pages faded and torn. Nekozawa said he was going to get the materials for my rite of initiation. My instruments were still in the next room.

The sound of a door closing somewhere told me that he had returned. And then that bone chilling, deep chuckle again. I shifted nervously back and forth, unable to see the student. But he soon entered the light's circle, and I finally got a good look at him. His black hair hung low over his pale, pale, cloud-white face, but I could make out his eyes. They were bright blue, glittering happily. The grin spread wide across his face under that hood as he came closer, holding a black bundle in his hands. "This is for the new member," he said with that deep voice of his. I shivered as he approached, and suddenly the candle light disappeared.

"What the-" But it lit up once again. Nekozawa had shoved the black cloak over my head, and was now smiling that evil smile at me. I could just barely make out the light blue eyes as they stared into my own.

"This is your cloak," he said, still grinning. "You will wear it as often as possible. When you wear it, you represent everything magic represents. You represent this club. Now that you have taken an interest in magic and acknowledge its existence, you are obliged to realize that in all that you do." He went on to explain the club activities, listing things like magic potions and spells, as well as magical items and spirits. All I could think was that this was probably the best club to join. Ever.

And then he stopped talking. The silence lowered like a heavy cloud on the room. I stood there uncomfortably, not exactly sure what I was supposed to do... But he muttered something in some super old Japanese that I could definitely NOT understand... Is that a whole other language? Nothing like I'd heard before.

He stopped again, waiting for a moment before reaching behind my shoulders to grab my hood. I blushed at the closeness and tried not to breath. His smile had left, leaving him with a solemn frown. I think. It was hard to tell because of his hair and hood. He pulled the hood over my head slowly, muttering something under his breath the whole time. When he finished, he kissed my lips softly and backed away-

Wait, WHAT?

I blushed furiously, but his grin was back now. "What was that for?" I asked, reaching up to touch my lips. They were still cold from his own. There wasn't any warmth in it... yet it felt kind of... nice. It felt _meant_. It felt meaningful.

He only smiled at me. "Part of the initiation," he rasped out, walking to the other side of the table to close the book. "I apologize for scaring you."

I hoped the hood hid my face as much as it hid his, because the blush was taking over. "No... no that's ok," I stuttered. Whatever. It's fine. Just initiation.

There was silence for a minute that stretched like hours. I breathed hard, trying not to think about it...

"I'm going to like having another member," he whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the end of school. I had to practice the instruments later, after my hour with Nekozawa. By the time I left the school it would be so late... But it's worth it for this awesome new club.

Today he was going to demonstrate a magic spell that would turn a mouse into a rabbit. Well, that's what he said anyway, but I totally don't believe him. There is no way that he can transform one life form into a completely different life form. There just isn't any way.

I watched him skeptically as he ground up some herbs in a small black bowl, muttering that ancient language again while staring down into the book that lay before the little brown mouse. Poor thing, I thought to myself. His time is going to be horribly wasted...

"The preparations have been made," Nekozawa rasped out, smiling that evil grin. He stepped over to my side of the table, cloak flowing, and stood very close. A bit too close. I blushed and stepped away slightly, but he directed his grin at me. "You'll have to hold on to me," he whispered. "This way you don't accidentally get changed into the rabbit instead of mousy here."

I lowered my head under the black hood of my cloak and lightly grabbed his sleeve. He giggled evilly and turned to the rodent. More muttering, and tossing that mushed up herb stuff on the mouse. It picked up the bits and pieces, swallowing them whole. My heart completely melted at the sight. How ADORABLE. I want that mouse. Maybe when he's done fooling around with it I can keep it. Nekozawa's chants were being ignored by me as I fawned over the rodent in my head. I think his name should be Timothy. Or Travis. Something wit a T. If it's a girl, it should be Tina-

Why is the table getting bigger? I thought the mouse was supposed to change, if anything at all.

...Why is my cloak so big?

Suddenly I was no longer holding onto Nekozawa, having lost my grip on the cloak's sleeve. My clothes were growing so large, and I couldn't see anything. The fabric's going to suffocate me! What the heck is going on? I screamed, "NEKOZAWAAAAA!"

Or rather, I tried to scream. What came out was something like "YIKATCHAAAAAA!"

The cloaks were removed, revealing the light of the single candle lit in the room on that table. The light was too bright, enormous and stunningly so. The mouse was still a mouse, just as it had been before. But it was a whole lot larger than it had been before. Nekozawa's face came into view, that grin gone, replaced by a shocked, open-mouthed face.

HUGE.

"Y-you're a bunny," he whispered. His breath rustled over my... fur... and I shivered. He lay on the floor before me and poked my nose gently. "You are a bunny rabbit. I turned you into a bunny rabbit."

"YIKUPATSUNIKALAKANETCHUKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I squealed loudly. I won't translate... How the heck is this real? I'm a rabbit! I've changed from a human being to a rabbit. Where did my body go? How did I get this one? If my original body shrank, where did all the extra skin and organs go? Where did the fur come from, that isn't my hair colour? What the-

Nekozawa suddenly smiled warmly at me, a small blush creeping across the pale face of his under his black bangs. "You're so adorable, little bunny rabbit," he cooed at me, pushing me closer to him. I banged his nose with my foot, but my banging powers have decreased greatly with my body size... He giggled at my attempts and lifted me up into his hands. "It's ok, little rabbit," he whispered soothingly. "I'm just going to keep you warm and protect you... You're metabolism won't cooperate with the cool environment I have set up in this room. And I don't want a cat to find you. Although I love cats, I don't want you to be eaten up little one. Losing my new member that fast would be terrible."

So he carried me into the darkness of one of the corners, where it was pitch black and even my new bunny eyes could see nothing. But the creak of springs and shuffling of blankets told me we were on a thin single bed. He had curled me up close to his cheek and wrapped me in the fabric of his hood.

That cheek was so cold, yet so comforting at the same time. I snuggled into it willingly. Is my bunny-ness taking over? Am I being this docile because the bunny form is controlling my soul? Will I _adapt_ to being a bunny?

"Don't worry, little one," he cooed at me again, rubbing my fur with his cheek. "It will wear off in an hour or so. The spell I used was temporary, maximum two hours."

I sighed, emitting a small squeak. Two whole HOURS of this? Being a bunny?

But when Nekozawa rubbed between my ears soothingly and protected me with is other hand, I snuggled in deeper. Maybe these two hours won't be that bad...


	4. Chapter 4

...

"Nekozawa?"

...

"Nekozawa, please don't scare me again..."

...

I creeped into the room slowly, glancing in every direction for the club president. The darkness was so thick as always, with only that one candle on that single table at the very center of the room. Shuffling over to it, I stood as close as possible without catching fire. Where is he? Has he not arrived yet? Maybe he's just stuck with the Host Club he keeps complaining about-

"Hello."

"GAHHHHHH!" I screamed and jumped, falling over on my back. He was sitting right next to me, knees up under his chin. "I think I told you ijust now/i and a whole bunch of other times that I definitely DO NOT like being scared like that!" I whimpered, scooting away from him. Why does he have to DO that?

His evil smirk widened on that ghost-white face of his. "Well I enjoy scaring people, and no one else is as easy to scare as you are," he rasped out in that deep voice. "Expect it to continue for a while."

I untangled my cloak from around my legs and stood, heat crawling across my face. Man, I wish I weren't such a scaredy cat... "Yeah, that's me, the one you pick on when you've got nothing else to do." First he turns me into a rabbit, then he scares me half to death at least twenty times a day. I wonder what's next. "Just go easy on me, ok?"

He only giggled and shuffled away. "Today we are going to recite basic incantations," he said, completely ignoring my request. I rolled my eyes and followed him into the darkness, knowing that a long table with magical/scientific tools were laying upon it. "First you shall just read them in your head, and understand what it means," he continued, opening a thick book to what seemed like a random page. "Then you will recite one out loud. Be careful how you pronounce the words, because the pronunciation plays a major part in the spell itself. Read in your head."

I did as told and read some of the ancient inscriptions from the book and their translations in English. "Does it matter in what language you say it?" I asked. Because there's no way I'm learning to read that stuff...

"Yes, it does," he rasped. "One can recite these in their native language, but the spells are stronger in their original language of creation."

I nodded and fingered through the pages, skimming over disappearing spells, sticking spells, cleaning spells, and their antidotes. After experiencing the rabbit spell, magic didn't seem so incredibly impossible anymore. "Read one out loud," he said, looking over my shoulder. I could feel his breath on my cheek.

Choosing one at random, I recited the spell, trying to get the pronunciations right. "Caeci vident virum ad profectum venire; cum sit homo, perdet eam," I stated, struggling with the words. Really reading it and trying to understand it, I realized it was indeed Latin.

Suddenly the world was gone. Everything went black. I could no longer see the book, nor the table, nor the light from the candle behind us. Or Nekozawa. "Hey!" I exclaimed, fumbling with the book. "What the heck just happened? Why can't I see anything?"

Nekozawa sighed under his breath, and I felt him take the book from me and hold my arm. "You read the spell to make you blind," he stated, his voice clear from my left side. "If you had pointed which one you were going to read, I would have warned you against doing so, but you didn't and here we are. You're blind."

I gripped his arm tightly, shocked. "Why the heck would someone make a spell to make themselves blind?!" I shouted. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of!"

His chuckle sent shivers through my body, and I felt him tugging me in some direction. "You are supposed to prepare for it, and part of the preparation is choosing the victim," he whispered into my ear. How close is he?! "When you do not choose a victim, it automatically becomes the person performing the ritual and speaking the incantations."

I followed him unsteadily through this oblivion, still holding his arm. I hate not being able to see... "Well this is your fault because you didn't warn me about any of this... Not a single thing!" I complained, mostly just to let off some steam. "Can you undo it?"

He giggled some more and pushed me down. I felt a seat under me, and almost missed it completely. "Yes, I believe that is possible," he whispered to me. He's still so close. I pulled my head back and put a hand up in front of my face, desperately trying to feel him. It collided with his chin, and he let out a small groan. "Please keep your hands to yourself," he said, his voice farther away now.

"Well you keep your face to yourself," I muttered, rubbing my arm. I hate this. Not being able to see totally sucks. "Pleasepleaseplease hurry, Nekozawa. I can't stand it..." It was so much darker than it is in the magic room, so scary. "I can't stand it, please make it stop!" My mind flew into a panic. It scared me so much. What if the colours don't seem the same when I get my sight back? What if my sight is worse than before? I could feel tears coming to my eyes, but I didn't even try to hide them. Squeezing my eyes shut did nothing to the impenetrable night. What if it doesn't work at all and I'm stuck in eternal darkness?

I heard him shuffling around, the robe sweeping against the floor and his mutterings erupting from all over the room. I wiped my eyes and shivered, sitting still and staring down into what I assumed was my lap. I heard him before me and he placed his hands on my shoulders firmly.

"Amissis redde," he whispered, and suddenly my vision was filled with the bright blue of Nekozawa's eyes. They were so clear, so deep, so... blue. And his face was the colour of paper, his hair black but not comparable to the darkness that had taken over my mind. I felt a tear run down my cheek and I couldn't resist leaning in to hug him, kneeling in front of me.

"Thank you so much," I sobbed out, unable to hold back the tears. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, thank you for getting me out-"

"It's fine," he whispered into my hair. I felt him wrap his arms comfortingly around my back, rubbing up and down in soothing motions. "I realized you disliked it so much. Just let me know next time what spell you plan to do when you don't know what it means."

I nodded into his shoulder, wiping my eyes and struggling to level my breathing. "I promise I will," I said in a crooked voice. Pulling back from him shyly I hung my head down and rubbed my eyes some more. I don't ever want to do that again. That was a horrible experience. "I'm sorry," I whispered. My cloak is such a beautiful colour. His shoes are such a beautiful colour. Everything is made much better now.

But he placed his hands on my shoulders again, and I felt his lips on my forehead. I blushed and continued staring at the floor when he hugged me once more. "I will be more watchful of you from now on," he stated, rubbing my back. "I'll take care of you."


	5. Chapter 5

"So... this one will make me invisible?"

"Precisely," Nekozawa whispered through a smirk. His smiles were bone chilling and reassuring at the same time somehow. "This is your potion here, and this potion will make only me able to see you." He twirled the contents of the vial around dramatically in his pale hand. "You did everything up until now correct- except that added oregano and parsley-"

"Hey, I wanted it to taste good, ok?" I defended myself, fiddling with the end of my black cloak. "It looked disgusting by itself." The single candle lit up the small table at which we worked. My vial was an ugly green, cold to the touch and bubbling uncontrollably. His was the most beautiful shade of orange, like tomato juice, and did no such thing as bubble. I think this is rigged. He knows how to make it taste great and won't let me in on it.

His smile widened, and I could just imagine his blue eyes under his black bangs taunting me. "If you add anything in that isn't called for, it will change the spell. For the better or the worse is not known, but in the case of oregano and parsley I would guess for the worse."

He wandered off to another table in the pitch black room, muttering one of those ancient Latin spells on his way. For the worse my butt. Quickly casting a glance at him to see that he was safely looking the other way, I sprinkled more of the oregano into the thick green stuff. It sizzled and popped once, but other than that the change was unnoticeable.

He returned with the open spellbook in his hands, and grinned at me. "Drink your potion, and I shall drink mine after you. In this case it does not matter how much of the liquid you drink, but sometimes for the spell to work the vessel must drink all of it." He pushed my disgusting potion towards me across the table, still smiling evilly at me. I'm sure he intends for it to taste awful. Well does he have something coming to him. I'm going to be invisible _and_ have an amazing-tasting potion to go with it.

I lifted the foul thing to my mouth and drank it in, taking only a small sip. The oregano did nothing to ease the barf flavour that settled into my tongue when the stuff rolled down my throat. I almost coughed it back up, but managed to keep it down with a whole lot of effort. Oh. My gosh. You can make a potion that turns you invisible but you can't make it taste at least a little better than this?

"Nekozawa, can y-"

I gasped. He wasn't moving. That grin was stuck on his face and his body was frozen, like it had been cut from stone. "Nekozawa?" I asked, waving a hand in front of him. He didn't respond. "If you're doing this to scare me..." But the potion in his vial had stopped mid-fling, with a few drops of it hanging in the air. "Oh my gosh," I whispered. Did I just stop time? Have I just STOPPED TIME?

BEST DAY EVER!

I broke out into the sunlight of the music room next door laughing my guts out. There are so many things I can do right now! So many pranks! Those Hitachiin twins will be put to shame! And I can get back at them for stealing my notes and my instruments and tripping me in the hallway and making me fall down the stairs-

All the thoughts of what I would do to the twins as well as other choice victims were flying through my head as I raced down the hall towards music room number 3, where the Host Club was probably planning for the next day. Opening the door a crack for me to get in, I saw that flower petals were frozen in the air, unable to move. The sunlight reflecting off of their smooth skins was breathtaking.

The twins were lounging on a sofa before about ten guests who were frozen with looks of awe on their faces. The twins were currently wearing their plaid green hats, which means they must be playing the "Which one is which" game they liked so much. I rolled my eyes and looked around the room for something to do to them... A black sharpie pen was in the bags of one of the girls, just sticking out.

I felt a smirk break out on my face. Time to make the game a little easier...

Five minutes later I was back in the darkness of Nekozawa's room, laughing to myself. He was still frozen in place. Maybe I should look into having the spell removed, I thought. How the heck do I do that? Um... "Start with the spellbook," I whispered to myself, going to Nekozawa to read over his shoulder into the book.

Suddenly I was completely lightheaded. The room is spinning... I found myself staring at the ceiling with an ache in the back of my head. So much black... Nekozawa wore a surprised look on his face, looking around the room for me. Time must have started back again, I thought, unable to move. Someone help meee...

He walked forward to begin his search for me, not seeing me on the floor. I couldn't call out a warning, and he tripped over my body, falling face first onto the tile. "What the- My goodness... You are quite the handful, aren't you?" he said crawling over to me. His grin returned, but it looked a little less evil. Maybe that was just with the influence of the lightheadedness I had acquired. His blue eyes were visible now. "You put the oregano in the potion didn't you?"

I could only nod, but heat rose to my face.

"WHO THE HECK WROTE OUR NAMES ON OUR FOREHEADS?" the twins called in unison faintly from their music room. A smile crawled over my lips as I remembered my deed. Nekozawa gave me a proud glance as he heard the words. "I see you have used your time wisely," he whispered, and I could just barely release a small giggle.

He sighed and lifted my head in his hands, placing it on his lap. "There is a real reason I tell you not to do things, believe me," he whispered as he ran his cream-coloured hands through my hair soothingly. "The oregano must have created a temporary time displacement in which you could move and nothing else could. At least your silliness provided us with a new potion," he said, smiling again. "You should know for time displacement spells and potions, a vessel with no experience with the spell will become extremely tired and the muscles will be limp after use. Especially in potions. Don't worry, it won't last long," he assured me, leaning in close to my face. His cold breath was comforting on my skin. "I'll make sure you're ok while you are in your incompetent state."

Well that's comforting, I thought. I'm not "incompetent", mister-

But any thought process stopped when he pressed his lips gently against mine, turning my whole body cold. His hands were much more prominent against my scalp and the side of my face, caressing my jaw as he separated us. "I'll make sure you're ok," he repeated in a whisper, pulling me in closer.

Funny... The cold felt nice.


	6. Chapter 6

"NYAAAAAAAAAAAANAHDFHJSOHGANDSYGJSH-"

I let out a frustrated sigh and adjusted the kitten in my coat. "WILL YOU PLEASE CALM DOWN?" I shouted, loud enough to cause students staying after school to poke their head out of the classroom doors. Blushing and staring at the ground, I continued on a little less loudly. "The whole school knows about you before the guy I'm supposed to give you to! All because you won't stop screaming!"

The black kitten managed to pull itself out of my shirt and up into my arms, almost escaping me completely. I shoved him back down, struggling with the buttons. "Just... calm down... almost there..." The dark wooden doors were only feet away now, I realized as I hurried the rest of the way. The cat was about to leap from my arms when I managed to pull the black handle out and swing the door open just in time. He landed in the middle of the room, his fur glistening in the dim light of the single candle. The force of his kick on my chest sent me tumbling backwards onto the floor, and I heard the clack of my elbow hitting the marble. Pain shooting through my arm told me it had been dislocated. I winced and pulled myself up with my good arm, glaring at the kitten that stalked proudly over to me. "You darned cat..." I muttered, sitting up slowly. Ok, you can do this... Three, two, one... I shoved my arm quickly back into it's socket before I could think. I let out a shout, before the pain completely disappeared as though it had never once existed. "I'm starting to think getting you was a bad idea-"

"Are you alright?" I looked up to see Nekozawa rushing over to my side, caressing my arm gently. "I saw you fall," he whispered huskily, rubbing my shoulder and elbow soothingly. Not until then had I realized that it was actually quite sore, and his fingers sent pain and relief through my body at the same time.

"How could you see me?" I asked, groaning when pulsing pain suddenly sent itself up my arm. "You weren't here when I fell."

"I was watching through the Alia Oculus," he said, leading me to the bed at the corner of the room. I noticed that his face didn't have any sign of the smirk that it normally did, and instead held total concentration. Is he actually worried about me? "The Other Eye allows me to see whatever I wish as long as I know what it is and where."

Crap. Did he see the cat already? I went through all that unsuccessful work of concealing that thing for nothing?

Suddenly I didn't feel my arm at all. His body shielded me from it, but from the frown on his pale face something had gone wrong. "What is it?" I asked worriedly. Where is my arm? Why can't I feel anything? "What happened? I can't feel my arm at all!"

"Um..."

Oh my gosh. He said um. He never does that. Something is seriously wrong. My brain completely panicked and I pushed his shoulder away to see my arm- or my lack of it, for all I knew. The sight was rather disturbing.

"...I didn't mean to do that."

My arm. Was completely limp. And bending in the wrong places. There was no elbow whatsoever. It was like jelly contained in a skin wrap. I tried with all my might to concentrate on it, make it move, lift it or _something_. But it didn't respond to my efforts. I could feel tears of anger and worry coming to my eyes. "NEKOZAWA YOU REALLY SCREWED UP THIS TIME!" It was fine before! It would've gotten better on it's own! "Please tell me you can fix this!" I wiped my eyes and timidly tried to poke my arm. It bent even at my small touch, and a gasp escaped me.

He stared at it with shock written all over his face, reaching down to life one of my fingers with his own. It bent unnaturally in the air, reacting to gravity alone and not the bones that should be there. "I removed all bones and veins," he said, waving my hand around. I gagged at the sight of my own arm twisting lazily without my consent. "I can change it. Give me two minutes."

"Two minutes?" I panicked, grabbing onto his cloak as he tried to move away. "Don't you know how to do it already?"

"Um... I just need to check the book on this one," he stuttered, slipping away into the dark to my right where the table would be. I could hear him rustling around, moving glass objects. The heavy thudding sound told me he had the ancient book open, and was flipping through it hurriedly.

"AAH!" Something pounced onto my lap, and I was about to swat it away, until I remembered the kitten. "Oh my gosh, don't _do_ that," I whispered to the formless creature that rubbed it's head against my stomach.

"Is something wrong?" Nekozawa asked, shuffling over to the end of the bed. His eyes grazed over me and then the cat, and his mouth dropped open. "What is that... gorgeous creature?" he whispered, jumping onto the bed and scooping the kitten from my lap. It nuzzled him happily as he nuzzled it back, purring exactly like a cat.

"I bought it for you," I said, glancing at them enviously. Why didn't the cat scream with him? How come I got all the attitude? "His name is Feliks, and he's a maine coon. Could we get back to the problem at hand here?"

After a few minutes (definitely longer than two) of cat hugging and flipping through books distractedly and nyans, etc. Nekozawa finally sat on the bed beside me and took my arm as gently as possible. I assume it was gentle, but I couldn't feel any of it. "Prepare yourself for pain," he said sympathetically, pressing his hand into my shoulder.

Wha-

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!" I screamed and cradled my arm in my hand, trying to ease the sharp pain that stung every fiber of that stupid arm. It bent correctly now, I noticed through my tears and cries of pain and rolling around on the bed in agony. "Oh my gosh, it hurts so much," I whimpered. It was like being hit with a hundred pound hammer, with the moment of contact playing on repeat. Everything hurt now, my whole body was sore. "Please try next time not to do that," I whispered.

Suddenly it was reduced to a dull ache. Although it still hurt like the hammer, the moment of contact replayed only once every ten seconds. I glanced up at Nekozawa to see him rubbing his hands together nervously. What happened? "I put a pain-relief spell on you," he whispered, not meeting my gaze. Is that guilt on his face? I couldn't be sure, because his black bangs hid most of it. "I'm really sorry I hurt you like that, and I don't want to ever do it again." He tentatively raised a hand to cradle my face and wipe away the wet streaks that fell down my cheeks. I shivered at the comforting cold of his palm as he pulled me into his cloak gently. From the nyan at my hip I assumed Feliks had followed us, curling into my side. I didn't care that I had to still practice all those instruments or that my family would be so mad I wasn't, or about anything else. The pain was too much for me to think. "Nekozawa..." I muttered. The pain was still so intense, and I let myself relax in his arms as he ran them comfortingly up and down my back, shushing me softly. I buried myself into his chest, closing my eyes tight against the pain and letting my tears seep out. Breathe. Remember to breathe. Just don't think...

"Shh, it's ok, everything is ok. It won't happen again."


	7. Chapter 7

"I don't think it will work."

"Well you know nothing of magic, do you?"

I crossed my arms and watched an excited Nekozawa rush around the room, collecting herbs and liquids and potions and combining them all into this one enormous pot at the center of the room. The single candle that he carried with him back and forth threatened to blow out, the wind causing it to flicker unsteadily. The dark tiles and walls were barely illuminated by the dim light, and I didn't dare move for fear of tripping over something and faceplanting. Nekozawa must be able to see in the dark... I mean, I guess his eyes must be awesome because he doesn't ever really go into the sunlight.

"Are you alright?"

I jumped out of my daze to find the subject of my thoughts quite close to my face, staring at me curiously. At this close range I could actually see his eyes. They were like the colour of the deeper part of the ocean, where the blue begins to turn black. They were so clear, so perfect, no distortions whatsoever. I guess that's from the absence of light all these years.

"Ow!" I rubbed my forehead and stepped back from him. He'd just poked me. Really hard! "What was that for?" I asked, unsure of what I did for him to poke me.

He straightened from leaning over me and held his finger guiltily. "I didn't mean to hurt you," he said. Those eyes were gone behind the black fringe of hair. "You just kept leaving me, and I thought maybe something was wrong."

Well it hurt a lot... "It's ok," I said instead of voicing my thoughts. "Let's just focus on making this traveling thing work."

And then his excited, sly smile returned to his face as he grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the cauldron. "Allow me to explain how this will work," he whispered into my ear through my hood. I stared down into the boiling mess inside the pot, unable to see the contents very well because the candle wasn't near. "This potion with my incantations will create a portal through space only- not time, as yours did-" I blushed at remembering my accidental time displacement, "to another destination. To set a destination, the members must think hard about where it is they want to go. See, a space displacement is available to anyone who wishes to participate, and anyone who participates can choose their own destination. Even if many people share the same space displacement portal, they don't all have to have the same set destination.

"Now here's the tricky part." The smirk widened on his face to a full out evil grin, delighting in whatever he was thinking. Sometimes that scares me. And other times I just wonder where the heck he picked it up. "Each space displacement requires energy. The larger the group that is using the portal, the more energy is required. The energy levels for the time displacement differ very much from the space displacement. When you used time displacement, you did not focus the wont for energy on a source. When the spell doesn't have a set energy source, it immediately takes it from the one using the spell. That is why after you had finished you felt very weak and could not even speak." He turned back to the cauldron, and I did the same. I guess this is making sense. It's a lot to absorb thought... "So if we do not focus our wont of energy on a source using space displacement, we will be ripped apart in the process of being transported and may not even make it to our destination."

"...And we're taking this risk why?"

He chuckled at my shocked face. But this isn't funny! We could implode in the middle of a spell! "I believe I said 'if'. 'If' we do not focus. But we will. In fact, we will make sure to extract the needed energy from the school. It has plenty to spare, and they may not even notice that there has been an energy depletion. For the journey back, I have an 18 volt battery. Also, does your shock and worry mean you believe it will work?" He smiled slyly at me as he pulled my cloak playfully.

I blushed and looked away pridefully. "Most certainly not," I mumbled. "Just get this over with so that I can play with Feliks."

At the sound of his name, the little black kitten approached the circle of light just enough so that I could see his glimmering black coat. Bright green eyes glanced up at me, and then disappeared. He was so. Adorable.

I felt the freezing cold of the pale man's fingers slithering into mine. "As I said, it is possible for two people using the same portal to end up in two completely different places," he said in answer to my uncertain look. "We must make sure that doesn't happen."

I shrugged the feeling away. Whatever. It won't work anyway. "Ok, take a stab at it," I sighed, closing my eyes. I heard him mutter a few words and flick the cauldron a couple times with his fingernails. A slight breeze wafted it's way through my hair, and I was scared for a minute that it really _would_ work. But then it slowed until finally stopping, and nothing else happened. He released my hand. I smirked and opened my eyes. "I told you-"

The room was really bright.

There were palm trees and birds and plants and animals and sand and an ocean and the sun in the room.

...It wasn't even the room anymore.

We'd displaced ourselves onto an island! It really worked! Where the heck are we? All these things were racing through my head at the speed of light as I turned in circles on the sand, taking in the noise of the animals, the heat of the sun burning down on me, the grainy sand working its way into my shoes... I had only seconds ago been in a dark room in a school nowhere near the ocean. And now I'm right next to it.

I realized I was smiling with joy, and turned to look for Nekozawa. "You were right!" I shouted so he could hear me from wherever he was. "I didn't believe you, but you were so right! It's amazing!"

"Yes, well, it's a little bright for my liking," I heard from somewhere in the foliage. I followed the sound through a bush and under a tree, away from the ocean, to see the student hiding under his cloak, with enormous dark black shades covering the majority of his face. They were so large they barely stayed on his nose. I forced down giggles and decided to sit next to him in the cool sand, hidden from the sun. "I didn't have a plan for where we would be going," he said, adjusting the shades and shifting to remove part of his cloak from the sunlight, "which is fine. But maybe I should have at least made sure we didn't land somewhere so hot..."

I immediately felt bad for enjoying the surroundings. "We could go back now, if you want," I said, moving closer and putting part of my cloak over his exposed feet. "You proved your point to me, and I'm wrong, so all's good, right?"

He smirked at me shyly. Wait. That look. Something's wrong. "What is it?" I asked, tensing up. "What happened?"

He fiddled with the sleeves of his cloak, staring down at the sand but still wearing that smirk. "We would be able to go back," he said in his deep voice, a giggle lacing all throughout it. "If you had reminded me to take the battery with us. But you didn't, so we have no way to return."

I froze. We're stuck here? On this island? The beauty suddenly made the whole situation ironic, a cage that I had thought to be freedom. Wait. _My_ fault? "How is that my fault that you forgot to take the stinking battery?!" I exclaimed angrily, standing up to look around some more. "What are we supposed to do now? How will we get back? No one knows we're here! We don't have food or water or shelter anything! Nekozawa what the heck are we going to do?"

He giggled up at me, the smile still there and playful blue eyes poking out from behind his black shades. "We explore," he chuckled at me.

I'm stuck on an island without any food or water or anything. With an idiot.


	8. Chapter 8

"Nekozawa... wait... wait up-"

"Can't you walk any faster?" Nekozawa turned back to me and pushed through some tree branches to stare down at me from behind those ridiculously enormous shades in almost disgust. I panted and bent over, resting my weight on my knees. "You don't have any stamina, do you?" he complained, sitting on a low rock beside me as I caught my breath. It feels like I'm coughing up blood.

"No," I sputtered out. Unashamed. Stupid magician. Stop pointing out all the negative things about me.

I felt his cool hand rubbing my back soothingly, up and down. "I've watched out through the Oculus. You don't get a lot of sleep. Instead you stay up practicing those instruments. This is what you get."

Ew. "Stop creeping on me," I panted out, standing up weakly. "It's weird. You could just ask to see me practice instead of stalking me." The hot sun beat down on my back through my long black cloak. It feels like weights are hanging from each arm. How does Nekozawa stand this? "Man, I wish we had the battery so we could fricking get off this island!"

"Well who's fault is it that we don't have the battery?"

I glared at that smirking face of his coldly. "Not. Mine." He's been blaming me for the past two hours, ever since we've been stuck here. "You left it there. It wasn't my job to bring it."

I realized he wasn't listening. He was tensed and poised to run, or jump up suddenly. What's he staring at? I looked around our small clearing, trying to see through the neon green foliage. Nothing. "What's wrong?" I whispered, scooting closer to him in the sand. I don't hear anything but a few birds and the ocean.

"Get down!" Nekozawa yelled, jumping on me. What the heck is it? We skidded into some bushes, out of the clearing and the sunlight. Ew. Leaves in my mouth. And I couldn't spit them out because Nekozawa's cool hand was covering my face. My nose too, so I couldn't really breathe. His added weight on my stomach didn't help much, and I was just about to punch him in the face when I heard voices.

"There was a strong energy charge in this area." I turned my head into the sand to see three figures, all dressed in white: white pants close to their legs, white long-sleeved shirts with high collars, white hoods over their heads... I couldn't see anything but the hair colour. One had red-brown hair, the shortest of the three. The next had black hair, very visible against the white hood. The last one, brown-haired and shaggy... Just looking at him sent shivers down my spine. Something about him felt... _powerful_. Dangerous. I didn't like it, and stole a nervous glance up at Nekozawa. His eyes were so close, a cold and intense blue staring out through the leaves. I hope he knows what to do.

"The person obviously used magic to get here," the black haired one stated calmly. "There is most likely only one person, as the amount of energy we felt discharged was not very much at all. Possibly a spy?"

"Have the island searched," the brown haired guy said. From his head movements I could tell he was looking around, trying to find clues, although I couldn't see his eyes. "There will be footprints. Start along this side of the coastline, working all the way around until you can close in on him." They were walking away. So quiet! The dark, heavy feeling I had experienced looking at the "footprints" dude, most likely the leader, dispersed, and I was sighing with relief.

"Sh!" Nekozawa rushed, and I froze. Were they back? "They will use the Oculus and many other powerful spells to find us," he whispered into my ear. "We must stay as we are."

Seriously? You're like laying _right on_ me! I couldn't even see his face we were so close. "Only for a few hours," he continued. His breath is really refreshing on my face, like air conditioning. "Don't move or speak. Try sleeping."

Can't breathe... I licked his hand and he pulled it quickly away, disgusted. "Sorry," I whispered back into his hair somewhere. It's all in my face. "Needed air."

And so he chuckled, and that was the last I heard out of him for the HOURS that we lay there in silence.

UGH.


	9. Chapter 9

It's super hot, there's sweat coming down in waves off my back and my forehead, my feet are _killing_ me, and I haven't eaten in over eight hours. If our loud footsteps in the sand don't give us away my grumbling stomach will.

"Can't you like magic us up some food or something?" I ask through pants as we trudge on in the dark. Well, as I trudge on. Nekozawa's doing just fine up ahead, parting leaves for us and holding a little glowing flame in his hand to guide us along with the moonlight. I'm guestimating it's about eleven or twelve at night. The moonlight helps a bit, but there isn't much once it gets through the thick trees. "Isn't there anything useful about magic?"

"Now you're speaking with your stomach," he said with that hint of laughter that drives me nuts. "Magic is very useful. Do you remember the history book I assigned you when you first joined? If you've been reading it, you would know of how much black magic has done for the world, both good and bad." I gritted my teeth in frustration, anger, _hunger_. That book was like a foot thick. I have absolutely no time for that. "In fact you would know who the people who inhabit this island are."

This piqued my interest. "Who are they?" Maybe I really should be reading some of that book.

"Well," he began, slowing so that I could catch up with him. His black hair was unnaturally smooth and not-greasy, like mine was without a shower in the past day, and that smile was still plastered onto his face, teeth glimmering in the flame's light. "Many peoples, from the Aztec to the Islamic, involved themselves in both Black Magic and White Magic. First we must make the distinction between the two." Here he turned to look behind us, muttered some Latin, and blew softly down to the ground as he did about every half hour. Immediately our footsteps disappeared, and we turned to walk again. "The old definitions are as such: magic in general was the calling upon or growing closer to a spirit or spirits, and Black Magic is practicing magic for selfish or morally wrong reasons whereas White Magic is the opposite. Now the two are usually grouped together by many, and there is no real difference."

"But there's a lot of other stuff that you've taught me that magic does," I interrupted, lifting my foot high over a log in our path. "Why was the definition just interaction with spirits?"

"Because that's all they could do at the time," he said matter-of-factly, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Geez. He continued, "Because so many people during so many different time periods believed in such practices, it is thought that divine intervention was involved, specifically two angels, or 'beings', named Harut and Marut. They are often viewed as tricksters, for they would come down to test humans with magic but tell the humans not to imitate them. However we did, and here we are," he gestured to the dark, sandy, jungle-y forest of palm trees like this was some accomplishment. Pffft.

"Now there were and are many different 'denominations', if you will, of groups who practiced the different types of magic. It is much like the Protestants Churches of Christians." He stood still for a tense moment and looked around us as though he'd heard something. Did someone find us? But then he continued, and I released my breath. My gosh this sweat is making my robe stick to my skin. "Basically every group focuses on some different aspect or type of magic, whether it be Black or White. Our group is focused on general magic, however there is another group that practices specifically the ancient traditions to keep them alive. Another is devoted to magic involving water, one to that involving air... You understand." I nodded and wiped a sticky piece of hair from my face. "There are some practicing explicitly animal magic or human magic. The denomination we have seen this afternoon puts the last two together."

He just stopped talking. What? "They combine human and animal magic?" I asked, uncertain if this is a bad thing.

He sighed heavily, turning to erase our footsteps again before speaking. "Yes. It would be alright if they practiced both separately, but in this case they put both together to form a whole new type of magic. This is acceptable. Remember something is only truly 'Black Magic' if it is used for selfish reasons, if it is morally incorrect. It can be called Black Magic without really being either of those things. Because it is so loose a term, there is much debate if something is Black Magic or White Magic, or Natural Magic, which is usually a happy medium of 'neutral'. However this denomination mixes those two types against the wills of the victims." The smile was gone from his face as he shields his tiny flame from the slight wind that's picked up. I can tell how serious this is from the low pitch of his usually jumpy voice. "The animals are treated well, otherwise they become faulty test subjects. On the other hand the humans do not have to be taken care of. They are often malnourished, dehydrated, tortured to no end, before they are used for the purposes of their combined magic."

I almost stop in my tracks, I am so appalled. How can stuff like this go on in a world as cultivated and matured as this? "Isn't there some sort of Magic Council or whatever that can take care of these guys?" I ask. The anger is seeping out of every word.

"Unfortunately not," he sighs. "These people suffer each day, none escape, and those who try are punished-" he accents very heavily on this word, "-or killed. They are used as guinea pigs from the day they are captured to the day they die, mutated into a lesser being without their consent."

I am really, really wishing he'd remembered to bring that stupid battery. Hopefully we don't run into these guys.

"Just as you shall be."

Nekozawa and I looked up to see the owner of the voice, the same black haired man in the white robe that we'd seen earlier that day, standing in front of us. He was partly hidden by the thick wall of leaves, but the menacing smirk on his face was clearly visible.

Crap.

"Stay behind me," Nekozawa whispered into my ear, touching my wrist. So I shift behind him, peering over his shoulder at the strange man. Now that I know what could happen, the fear starts to set into my bones. I don't want to be a human-animal hybrid!

"I can smell the fear in the little one's sweat," the white-robed man said. His voice is deep and heavy and resonant, like I can almost feel it in the ground. Everything about him just reeks of power, confidence. I'm instantly freaked out, kinda like immobilized. Is this his magic? What can this guy do?

"Let's take the easiest first, shall we?" the man says, widening his smirk.

I heard Nekozawa say urgently, "Get back!" But that was the last I remember before I found myself staring into the canopy above, and then darkness.


	10. Chapter 10

It hurts SO. BAD. just to even open my eyes. But there's a lot of noise I can hear, some groaning and mostly shuffling around, like on gravelly rocks. The smell is awful. It reeks of bile and puke and blood and sweat... Upon stretching my right hand open I found that I couldn't do it. Or maybe I did. If I did, I couldn't feel it.

It's extremely humid as well. I can feel my own sweat trickling down my forehead, onto my neck-

"Hey," a gentle, unfamiliar voice called to me. "Hey, I know you're probably feeling really bad right now, but you have to stay with me, alright?"

I forced my eyes open to see a woman's face staring down into mine. She had beautiful blue eyes and silvery-platinum hair that rippled down her shoulders, over her pale skin. She's smiling at me. Everything's disappearing... Is she an angel? Does that mean I'm dead? Or is she my personal angel that comes to me when I need her? I wonder what her name is. She seems like such a nice lady...

"My name's Marlene. Talk to me," she whispered. The more she spoke, the more her voice pulled me back to this ugly world. Instead of that white halo-thingy that had been surrounding her before, now there was black rock, a few people sitting crouched behind her. But she still had that encouraging smile on her face.

"Where am I?" My voice rasped out and reminded me of that crow I had in my old home in Russia. I don't know how he got there, especially because I lived up in the higher, wilder parts with just my mentor and no other sign of human beings for at least forty miles. I named the bird Callus. Because it sounded like what a callus would sound like if it had a voice. Why am I thinking about calluses again?

"You're in a cage," she whispered, and then her smile faded. I could barely hear her over the now much louder groans erupting very close by. I'm in a cage? "You've been captured. But let's not think about that. Ask another question."

We'd been on the island. That's right. I felt the panic sink into my bones as I remembered. The White Mage had found us. Us...

"Where's Nekozawa?" I struggled to pull myself up to look around for him, and immediately my head throbbed and pain shot through all of my limbs. But it doesn't matter. He told me about how they treated the humans worse than the animals. "Where is he? What did they do?"

"Sh, sh, sh," she calmed me, pushing me gently back down with one hand. I could see now, I was in some sort of rock cavern that stretched way forward to my right and ended a few yards from my left. The walls were jagged, undefined, all the way to these metal bars that fell from the ceiling to the floor, blocking the exit. Outside the bars, from what I could see, was a small hallway, across which was another set of bars and more humans stuck behind them.

"It's all ok," she said, and I felt her cool hand run through my hair. Only then did I feel the heat engulfing my body, burning me to a crisp. "You saw those bars over there, honey?" I like the way she says honey. It calms me down immediately. "Behind our bars are all the women, and over there behind those other bars are the men. Your friend has been asking about you. He is fine, mainly because the spell that was used on him only weakened him. You however were hit with a spell that did something to your body..." Here she frowned down at me worriedly, talking almost to herself. "You've been out cold for the past two days with fever, your joints so stiff it was hard to bend them..."

She drifted off, and in the emptiness of her voice I felt all the pain. My lungs were suddenly constricted, pain in every bone of my body, and the heat was unbearable. I felt like I was about to throw up, only made worse by every time I moved. Everyone else's pain was made aware to me as well, their screams and groans and murmurs. How the heck do all these people get here?

"Hey honey? Honey don't leave, ok?" I opened my eyes again, not even knowing they'd shut. "Your friend wanted to see you as soon as you woke up. And the air is better for you at the front of the cage anyway. So c'mon, sweetheart, let's get you up there- Selena, can you help me lift her? She's got to get to cooler air-"

And I nearly blacked out at the pain that ripped through me when Marlene and "Selena" lift me up and carry me over the bodies on the cave floor, until minutes that feel like hours later we're finally at those darned bars. I'm screaming as they set me down, and even when they lay me on the floor and Marlene strokes my forehead again the tears still stream down my face and the moans don't die down. I can't stop them from coming out, releasing this constant pain from my body... And all I can hear is the pounding of my heart in my head...

"It's ok, it's ok, shhh..." Marlene whispered into my ear and I tried to focus with all my might on the sound of her voice. "Just calm down, honey, it's alright. Look who came to see you."

I open my eyes slightly and there's Nekozawa, through the bars, just as cramped with other men as we are with other women. His black hair is still in his face, and his robe is a bit tattered, but other than that he looks great. Seeing him calms me down, and I sigh with relief. But he doesn't smile at me with that sharp-toothed grin. Instead he's frowning. Or sad. I can't tell. My vision is fading out. He crawls as close as he can to my bars, pressed up against his, and reaches his hand out through them to me.

I can't move. Marlene must know because I feel her cool hand on my wrist and see her lift it through the bars to his hand. Our caves/cages are so close that he can hold my fingers in his. I can't feel them.

"I'm sorry I forgot the battery," he whispered softly, stroking each of my fingers with each of his. Our island adventure took a turn for the worse. I'm pretty sure he's staring at me through his bangs.

Even in my pain I can utter a bit of sarcasm through my parched throat. "You finally admit it."

But he doesn't laugh, or smirk, or even smile. He just holds my hand, until once again my sight turns black.


	11. Chapter 11

I was aware of the bars being slid open through my dark and feverish half-sleep. Heavy footsteps, murmuring, scrambling women getting away from the bars. Marlene was gone. I have no idea what time it is or what's going on, but it must've been at least hours since seeing Nekozawa again, because now I had enough strength and lessened pain to move myself slowly into a sitting position up against the jagged rock wall of the cage.

Glancing up tiredly through the opening, I saw three men in those funky white robes towering over me, looking into the cave through their extremely long bangs that covered their eyes. How they could even see anything whatsoever let alone examine all the prisoners in this dark, dank hole, I had no idea.

One of them pointed at me, muttering something like "That one is weak enough for the procedure." What procedure? I thought, my heart missing a beat. My mind went back to what Nekozawa had said as we roamed the island, about combining human magic and animal magic. Back when we weren't locked up underground starving to death, filthy and bruised and cut. When we were on that beach the first time, and it was calm and serene and blue forever... It was hard to imagine that those memories ever happened as one of the two robed figures bent down and dragged me up by my arms. The other went for someone in the male cage, which I just then noticed was open. A thin, frail guy in some tight, torn skinny jeans and a ripped v-neck was hauled out, leaning completely against the guard for support. The bags under his eyes and his hollow cheeks hiding behind long, messy brown hair had me feeling sorry for him. He's obviously had it much worse than I have.

"Make sure it doesn't get broken or ripped up on the way there," the leader guy said, walking ahead of us. "You know that once that happens, we can't use it. And it's already in pretty bad shape." So my guard shifted me to a slightly more comfortable position, my arms around his neck, and he half carried-half dragged me out of the cage before I heard it boom shut behind us again. The pain started to shoot through my arms and stomach at the tension of remaining upright. He wasn't being too gentle...

"Neko-" I couldn't even finish a single word. I didn't realize how sore and broken my throat had gotten. Did they take him too? Or did he... Is he dead?

Tears sprang to my eyes at the thought of my friend through all this that we've gone through would have been lost now, so far into this mess. For nothing.

He's not dead. Stop imagining things. He's not dead.

But then why didn't he say something to me before they took me away? He would have done something, just _spoken_ to me. He would've let me know he was there.

He's sleeping. At the back of the cage. He's fine.

I was so absorbed in my struggle to just _deal_ that I didn't notice how many turns we took or what direction we were headed that led us to another long, carved room with smooth edges, a plaque on by the entrance with "Lab 23", and about ten tables lined up side by side all the way to the other doorway at the end of the room. They were impeccably clean and shiny white, and every one of them except two was occupied by a male or female strapped to them, most unconscious, others half awake moaning in pain. I threw up then and there. The stench was unbearable, not to mention the sight of their blood dripping onto the table and draining through six or seven holes lining the sides, to prevent it from going over the edges of the tables.

I wish my puke had hit my guard full-on in the face. Unfortunately, it only stained the bottom of his now not-so-cool-looking robe. His disgusted groan caused me to smirk as he pulled me after the other guard to the two empty tables in the middle of the room. The poor guy before me was lifted up roughly onto the table and strapped by the wrists, neck, waist, and ankles with cuffs I hadn't previously noticed. I was soon in the same position, too weak to even verbally protest, and staring at the smooth rock ceiling above me.

"Specimen in position," I heard someone call out over he dim chatter of the white-robed magicians talking throughout the room.

"Bring the animals," a female voice said, and I panicked. I had pretty much no idea how this was going to work, what the heck was going to happen, if it would hurt or not... All I could remember was Nekozawa telling me they combine human and animal magic. What does that mean? My brain was fuzzy from stress and worry and hunger and dehydration, and I turned my head frantically to look around the room. Next to me was the half-dead dude, and on my left was another female who couldn't be more than ten.

Through the same doorway I had entered, the white-robed guards carried in cages of animals, some big, some smaller, others in little glass containers. They filed in to the last table until all tables had one animal before them. I saw mine. It was a small red fox, with beautiful black paws and curious, sharp golden eyes that showed no sign of fear. They had obviously treated the animals much better than the human prisoners.

Then the guards knelt down at the end of our tables and I heard clanging of the cages being unlocked. Suddenly there was pattering and scraping below me. The fox must be in some sort of cage down there, I thought wearily, my eyes becoming heavy again.

"Animals are in position and with their conductors on," the first voice said. Conductors?

"Alright, put the conductors on the humans," the same female voice echoed through the room. Suddenly a guard, the same one who had brought the fox- I think- was at my side with some sort of tube and a bottle of thick, clear substance. Without saying a word, he forced my mouth open and pushed the tube in, so far back that I gagged on it for a few seconds. Then he opened the bottle and squirted some of the gel on my forehead. It was freezing, and gave me a brain freeze on the spot. I winced at the cold as he proceeded to put a dollop on my neck, my chest, my stomach, the back of my hands, and the tops of my feet. I had been so feverish before, and now I felt like I was immersed in icewater.

"Conductors have been placed and are ready for use."

I could feel shivers run through my body, from both the cold and the nervousness.

"Engage transmission."

The man beside my table began chanting in Latin in time with the other magicians, his eyes closed almost reverently. I had studied enough with Nekozawa that I knew it was Latin at least.

"Mutationis mutatio est, unum et animam bestia, id cum una anima hominis..." The eerie chant echoed throughout the now otherwise silent room. I didn't feel any tingles or anything different at all. But the dread was growing in my mind, and my pulse quickened its pounding in my chest.

"...duo autem unum sunt, et mortuus est." And then they were silent.

Nothing happened. Long seconds passed with me holding my breath, waiting for something, _anything_ to happen, just so that this tension can break and I can go back to Nekozawa and we can get out of here.

Suddenly I was... aware. Painfully aware of so many things. I was aware of the dead fox below me. I could smell its empty body, the distinct sweat and blood of each human in the room, the other animals dead beneath the tables, their souls raging against the souls of the humans in which they were trapped. And I could see every crack what I had previously thought to be a perfectly blemish-free ceiling, the eyes behind my guard's drooping hair, I could hear his breath, I could feel the air move around me. All my senses were heightened.

And I felt that there were two souls in me. There were two beings occupying one body. The fox was panicked, fearful, the emotion coursing through my veins although the only emotion my soul could feel was confusion, surprise. Then- it was so _strange_. It was like behind my eyelids I could _see_ our souls fighting for dominance or a way out as they merged together. There was a pain in my head, dull but strong, as finally I couldn't distinguish two souls anymore. We were the same thing.

And that was weird. Because I was hungry on a whole new level too. And I didn't want a nice sushi bar or pizza or anything like that.

I wanted a rabbit. I wanted to eat a rabbit. I was CRAVING a rabbit.

"Take them out and have them bathed," the female voice rang out. The chattering of the guards began again, and I felt myself being unstrapped. Newfound energy rushed to my head as I stood. I was suddenly curious about everything from my guard to the other rooms in the underground cavern- which I could smell- and the ocean I sensed surrounding us, and... the dead animals under the tables in their cages. I saw the fox and began shaking. That used to be me. That was me. I had been that fox. That was my body. They killed me to put me in... _me_.

I shook in fear as my guard helped me up, much more gently now that I carried an animal soul that had to be taken care of, through the opposite doorway. So many things were on my mind, Nekozawa, my dead fox body, two souls becoming one, Marlene, and I just burst into tears into my guard's robe, not even caring that he was a bad guy or that he didn't care or that everyone could see me- although they weren't focused on me.

I just want Nekozawa.

I just want to go home.


	12. Chapter 12

So... I'm not exactly sure what happened.

I was in some sort of washroom, right? Where this white-robed lady was rinsing me off in this huge room that had like a river flowing through it. The floor just gave way to a heavy stream of warm water from one end of the room to the other, in which I was cleaned off along with some other female test subjects. And then I just sort of passed out.

Now here I am under some brush or thick grass, with the warm beating of the sun on my face through the leaves. Finally, after being out of that hole in rock, I can breathe fresh air again! With my new refined senses, it was even better. The smells were the best. There was the scent of clean water, of other animals, of other humans, of the clouds... It was so fresh and clear that I SWEAR I could smell the chloroplast in the plants.

I sat up slowly to survey my surroundings. I was basically sitting in a bush, which seemed to be part of a thick forest. Next to me were two dead rabbits, their throats obviously cut cleanly by a knife. So they must have been left here for me, probably by the scientists... Why would they just put me outside, let me go, with fresh food and everything?

I gently pushed the rabbits off of my dirty black robe, trying not to look at their cold, dead eyes. I'm a vegetarian. No matter how much this fox stomach grumbles, I am not eating something that was alive. I was definitely filled with more energy than I was before I underwent that "procedure"... The dim lights and Latin chants slid into my mind. But all it gave me was a headache and worry, so I pushed it away. Whatever, so I've got a fox soul now mutated into mine. That makes me a fox. I'll deal.

Even though this extra energy pulsed through my veins, my body was physically malnourished and needed attention. But no rabbits. So I hoisted myself onto my knees, sniffing the air cautiously, on a new instinct ingrained into my head. Smell for nearby predators.

"You don't want them?"

I whipped my head to the voice, behind me, and saw a super super welcome sight that had me practically _melting_ with relief. Marlene knelt on the other side of my bush, her braided, now less-platinum-more-grey hair and soft grandmotherly features smiling sadly at me with those crystal blue eyes. I was so happy to see her I almost didn't notice the male next to her. The same male who had been on the table next to me in the "procedure". He looked a lot better, less pale and... well, dead. He must've eaten an animal as well. His eyes were not so blank, and he seemed more aware of his surroundings.

I stuttered for a second, looking them both over, just feeling so GOOD at her familiar face, before finally answering. "I'm a vegetarian." My own voice surprised me. It was rough and cracked, coming out as more of a quiet cackle than words.

Marlene shook her head at me. "You can't be one where we are, hon," she said in the same sweet voice she had used in the cage. "We're at the top of the island, in a controlled area of the forest. They let the human-animal... combinations eliminate each other, so that only the strongest are left. You have to eat meat or you won't survive."

I ignored their stares and picked at my fraying robe. The heat had become a little less comforting, and I could feel the strong presence of the dead rabbits. No. Way.

When I didn't answer, she sighed and went on. "I was taken for the procedure right after you. Donte found you first and caught you the rabbits. Your friend was also taken for transfer. He should be out by now."

For a second, I thought about how Donte, the male, had found me and kept me alive. His aura gave off a dominant, predator-type feel, but he hand't tried to kill me and/or eat me, depending on how this whole "elimination" thing works. And then the only thing in my mind was, Nekozawa's here? I looked around as if expecting him to just make his entrance from through the trees. I hope he's ok. He'll make everything right. He knows what to do.

"He wouldn't be here now, hon." Marlene placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "But he can't be far. The island is only so big." She tried to sound encouraging, but honestly? When we had first been walking on the island- it seemed so long ago, in a different world... We had walked for HOURS before being caught by the white-robed people. And if I'm understanding correctly, there's a food chain around here. And we're not very high up on the system.

So without a word, just a sense of acknowledgement in all of us, we rose from the brush and began our search for Nekozawa.

"What... animal are you, hon?" I could hear the caution in her voice. I wonder if she's alright. It must be hard for her too, but she's keeping me together. The Donte dude hadn't said a word and was constantly looking at me. Or... looking away when I looked because he was looking. Whatever. This heat is getting to me. The energy that had previously been giving me strength was now fading away.

"I'm a fox," I whispered dryly, my throat still scratchy. Man, I sound totally out of it. Speaking of the little devil, the fox part of me wanted so bad to eat the rabbits that Donte was carrying in his pockets. I had to force myself to focus on something else. REALLY hard. "It doesn't feel so different after a while." I'm sure this will come back to tell me different later, but right now I didn't want to think about it. Think positive.

"I was mixed with a koala," she said, staring at the ground as we walked. "A koala... Do they want me dead or something? A koala isn't going to survive against bear-humans or wolves."

"...I got some kind of shark," Donte finally said into the quiet of our trampling of leaves. His voice was just as cracked as mine, and sounded almost ancient with misuse. His limp wasn't totally gone either, I noticed, and beneath his clothes and brown hair and dirt were bruises, dried blood, sweat, all in one. He must be getting it the worst of all of us.

I hitched the edge of my robe higher to air out my ankles. My gosh, it's really hot now. And I'm starving. I reached down and just picked up a handful of grass. I'd never been this pro of a vegetarian, but right now is an emergency. So I stuffed it in my mouth, bracing for the absolute WORST taste of my life. But it's not very different from brussel sprouts. Marlene looked sorry for me, and Donte watched in slight amazement.

We hadn't encountered any other animals/humans, and were walking at least two hours (with frequent stops- we were all malnourished). Marlene and Donte eventually ate a rabbit each, _raw_, which I just couldn't stand to watch. They sat on the ground, leaning against a tree, and I turned my back slightly to them so I wouldn't have to see them tearing into rabbit flesh. As I gazed out into the forest, absently thinking about hopefully getting back to the school, I saw something. Something black and flat on the ground, half under the wide shade of a low tree. I sniffed the air, and sure enough-

-that's Nekozawa's scent.

Without waiting to tell the others, I jumped up and raced my dehydrated little self over to the body of my friend, maybe only thirty feet from us, covered in grass and leaves and shade. He was laying facedown in the grass, and when I flipped him over, he somehow had those ridiculously large glasses covering his face. He coughed and sat up abruptly, and I just pat his back and stared at him in the shock and relief I felt coursing through me. He's ok. I'm touching him. He's alive.

He looked at me through the dark lenses of the orange glasses, that mischievous grin crawling back onto his face as though we were back at school, about to play a prank on the Hitachiin twins again. Like Feliks was curling around our ankles in welcome as he taught me a new spell that I was sure to mess up. And for a second I believed it, while I hugged him and laughed somewhat hysterically and ignored all the problems we were facing.

"I knew you'd make an excellent assistant," he whispered in my ear as we hugged tightly. Well, I hugged him super tight and he found himself caught in my embrace whether he wanted it or not. "Always returning to the instructor."


End file.
